Hogwarts Worked in Harmony
by Unsuspected
Summary: "We must unite inside her or we'll crumble from within." Seven friendships of those from separate Houses.
1. Parvati and Padma Patil

She was nervous. They were on the train. Almost there. Almost at Hogwarts. Almost. And once they got there... the Sorting.

"Ravenclaw sounds nice, don't you think, Parvati?"

"Ravenclaw?" her sister said, looking surprised.

"Yeah, Ravenclaw. They value intelligence. It sounds good, don't you think?"

"Gryffindor's got to be better. I mean, imagine all the fun they'd have. And they—you know—they make a _difference_."

"Knowledge," Padma said, "makes plenty of a difference."

"But they might never do anything with it without courage, you know?"

"I suppose that's true," she said.

"Well, whatever House we end up in, it'll be the same one."

"Agreed. But what if—"

"I'll switch. One of us will switch. So we can be together. We have to be together, Padma."

"You know you can't do that!"

"Then we'll have to end up together the first time."

Separated. They're separated. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.

Their prefects are leading them off.

"You've always been too daring—" Padma said to her sister, as she catches a glimpse of her.

"You've always been too—" Parvati hesitated "—too know-it-all-ish."

"Excellent adjective," Padma said harshly. "I'm surprised you're not with me, with such extraordinary use of the English language."

"See—that's the thing, isn't it? You're always making these speeches. Like that'll do anything in the end. Like that will make a difference."

"And shouting like mad will?"

"Well, if you're going to be stubborn—"

"Says the _Gryffindor_."

"—then I suppose it doesn't matter if we're in different Houses, does it? Because I don't have a sister." And with that, she ran toward the front of the group of Gryffindors.

"Parvati—" her sister called, but it was far too late. The Gryffindors were already far away, and Padma's own housemates were moving further and further from her.

So she hurried off to join them, even though she would have much rather stayed behind.

"You're an idiot," said Parvati. "You know that?"

Padma merely looked at the ground.

"I was making friends, you know. Lavender Brown—she's really nice. Can't you just leave me alone?"

"Sorry," Padma muttered. She was playing with a strand of her hair, her brown eyes staring determinedly everywhere but her sister.

"Sorry?" Parvati repeated, looking outraged. "You nearly break into our common room, and that's all you say—sorry?"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Sorry."

"Stop it!"

"Well," Padma said in a tone straining for composer, "if you're not going to accept my apology, I guess that's it."

The seconds seemed to go be extraordinarily slowly.

"Wait—" Parvati said suddenly. "Padma?"

"Yes?"

"Sorry."

"So, we're—um—sisters again?"

"Yeah."

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><p><strong>AN: I'm posting a lot of fics, today, it seems. Without bothering to be a perfectionist. So if you hate these, I don't blame you. But hopefully you don't. Hopefully you like them. Hopefully you love them. That'd be brilliant. But no matter, thanks for reading.<strong>


	2. Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood

When they first meet, they were on the train.

She couldn't find anywhere to sit, and she seemed friendly enough, if not a bit odd. And Ginny thinks she's seen her around before, anyway. So they sit together, and they talk for quite some time about what House they're hoping to be sorted into.

They don't talk much after that, really, though they'll sometimes sit together in shared classes or say hello in the halls.

Until they're on the train once more.

"I was wondering," said Luna, "if I could sit with you again."

And Ginny said yes, because it was the polite thing to do.

"You were the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets."

Ginny's face lost all of its color in less than a second.

"It wasn't your fault, I know," Luna added quickly. "You hardly even knew. Anyone could have— I just wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help. You were acting strangely all year, and now it must—"

"Maybe later," Ginny said dismissively, "still a bit of a shock."

"Oh, of course! What would you like to talk about, then? I read this excellent article—"

The next time they spoke was on the train as well.

Luna had found a spare compartment before Ginny this time it seemed, and she was reading that magazine of hers.

She did not even look up from it as Ginny entered, giving an airy hello.

"Hi. I was wondering... if maybe we could talk about last year a bit..."

Luna looked up from her magazine. "Oh, of course," she said. "What bit? Is there anything I can do to help? Or should I just listen?"

"I dunno," Ginny said.

But Luna, it transpired, was helpful no matter.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, happy 2012 I guess. Enjoy <em>Mark of Athena<em> and the Hunger Games and the end of the world and all of that. And hopefully enjoy this. Thanks for reading, as always, I suppose.**


	3. Lily Evans and Severus Snape

She's a Gryffindor, you know.

You've always known. Ever since she flew from the swing to now, as she stalks out of the compartment simply because she couldn't stand listening to those obnoxious boys. Admittedly, you're grateful for it, but you can't see yourself doing such a thing.

You knew it as she stood up for the sister she so despised, and as she told you again and again that you could survive anything.

But you tell yourself otherwise. Because you don't want to be alone.

Because her eyes are just green enough for you to fool yourself that somehow, by some miracle, she'll end up in Slytherin with you.

It's official now. Gryffindor.

You're officially enemies. You should be, at least.

Because you're a Slytherin—just as you've always known—and you're simply not allowed to be friends with a Gryffindor.

But you tell yourself otherwise. Because you don't want to be alone.

Because her smile is just warm enough for you to fool yourself that somehow this will end in something other than tragedy.

It doesn't get any better.

Your fellow Slytherins think you're an idiot—and honestly you can't help but agree. Her housemates feel the same about her—but she, she stands up for you in the way no one else ever has. You don't think you're worth it.

But you tell yourself otherwise. Because you don't want to be alone.

Because she's just sure enough for you to fool yourself that maybe she's right about you.

Years of it.

You snap in fifth year.

That horrible word. That unforgivable word.

Mudblood.

You can't blame her when she vows never to speak to you again. You can't blame her for being disgusted.

In fact, you make yourself sick. And you know that now she'll never see you as anything more than another heartless Slytherin.

But you tell yourself otherwise. Because you don't want to be alone.

Because she's just kind enough for you to fool yourself into thinking that by some miracle, she'll find this horrible thing you've done to be forgivable.

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><p><strong>AN: What's the friendship genre without angst? Young Snape and Lily are always very fun to write, aren't they? At least, I enjoy it. Then again, I find a lot of characters fun to write. Why I haven't been doing more writing lately is a mystery to me... Thanks for reading. Hopefully it was worth the wait.<strong>


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